A new oncology patient addition at Northside Hospital is one of the latest examples of a facility specifying the industry’s first EPA-registered microbicidal paint.
The project
The Northside Hospital Healthcare System is one of Georgia’s largest and most respected health care delivery systems, with three full-service hospitals in Atlanta, Cherokee County and Forsyth County and more than 150 outpatient service locations across the state.
And their service to the people in the area keeps growing. Recently completed: A three-story vertical expansion to the surgical tower at their Forsyth County facility in Cumming, Ga.
Northside engineers worked closely with their local Sherwin-Williams team to determine the best coatings for all phases of the project.
The paint
Sherwin-Williams Paint Shield® Microbicidal Paint would be an integral part of the interior coatings spec. It was used throughout the entire seventh floor of the new structure – an area designed to serve as an oncology bed unit.
“The microbicidal properties were attractive given the compromised immune system of our patient population for this floor,” says Tom Doenitz, Engineering Manager at Northside Hospital.
Paint Shield is the first EPA-registered microbicidal paint and kills greater than 99.9 percent of Staph (Staphylococcus aureus), MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), E. coli (Escherichia coli), VRE (Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis) and Enterobacter aerogenes within two hours of exposure on the painted surface. It continues to kill 90 percent of these bacteria even after repeated contamination for up to four years when the integrity of the surface is maintained.
https://youtu.be/70OT1jrv_EA
The painter
DACA Specialty Services of Norcross, Georgia was contracted to apply the paint. DACA painters brushed and rolled two coats of Paint Shield on the walls of the new oncology bed unit, and one of the best parts was that it was easy to apply and presented no significant learning curves for the crew.
“Paint Shield® feathers out extremely well. It doesn’t flash like some eg-shel paints do, and it has great coverage.” –Ken Gibson, DACA Specialty Services
“This product did exactly what Sherwin-Williams said it was going to do,” says Ken Gibson of DACA. “My biggest concern going in was about touch-up, but Paint Shield feathers out extremely well. It doesn’t flash like some eg-shel paints do, and it has great coverage. Our guys really liked it, and I’d compare it to Cashmere Paint in its application.”
Bottom line: A positive painting experience
All in all, the use of Paint Shield Microbicidal Paint has been a positive experience for everyone involved in the project.
“We have noted our use of it to patients, visitors and to accreditation surveyors,” Doenitz says. “We look forward to monitoring its performance over time both in terms of durability and reduction of bio load in the space.”
This article was originally published in the Spring 2017 issue of PPC magazine. Story by Mike Starling, PPC Editor. Learn more about microbicidal paint in our Paint Shield FAQ